Neil Gaiman’s new novel is enthralling

I am always excited when Neil Gaiman publishes a new book. I fell in love with his writing a few years ago. I did not discover the genius of Neil Gaiman until a friend turned me on to him. Now, let’s face it, I am a fangirl. In about a day and a half, I read his latest book The Ocean at the End of the Lane and I absolutely loved it. In this short novel, we meet a middle-aged man who returns to his small, English village in order to attend a funeral and finds himself remembering a fantastic story from when he was seven years old. He recalls his eccentric neighbor, Lettie Hempstock, and odd mother and even more odd grandmother. He remembers being under the influence of a rather magical (and not in a good way) housekeeper. I felt pleased to be sucked into this rather dark tale.

There are elements of this book that feel very autobiographical and Gaiman even alluded to such in press interviews upon the book’s release. He explores the disconnect between childhood and adulthood with superb characters and expert story-telling. I highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook as it is also performed by Neil Gaiman. He is excellent at bringing his stories to life when he reads them. I love that this book is getting such popular feedback, by fans and critics. However, I just read that the movie rights have been sold for a feature film. there are some books that i don’t really want to see made into a movie. I have a picture in my head and all too often I am disappointed by what appears on-screen. Although, Tom hanks is producing the project so I remain mildly optimistic.

About Theresa

I am a reference librarian currently working in North Carolina. I have always been passionate about history, education and the value of books in all of their forms. I also love how quickly we can access information through the immediacy of the web, especially social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to growing in my chosen profession.